Joy unsettled him.

You could feel it
the moment light entered the room.

A quiet shift.
A tightening.

As if happiness were an insult
to some private injury.

So the atmosphere would darken.

A criticism placed carefully
inside a joke.

A reminder of failure.
A prediction of collapse.

Not loud enough
to name directly.

Just enough
to pull everything downward.

You begin to understand
some people are not trying to build anything.

They are simply more comfortable
in ruins.

And if they must live among others,

they will spend their days
loosening the bricks.